The making of authentic tortellini: Aestheticization of artisanal labor and elite univorism in the case of local food

Abstract

In this article, I will look at two distinct Bolognese practices within the tortellini commodity circuit as a case in the cultural production of traditional local food. The article is based on ethnographic observation of laboratories in the city of Bologna, interviews with ‘sfogline’ [skilled workers] and with the ‘Dotta Confraternita del Tortellino’, a local association of amateurs responsible for the filing of the traditional recipe in 1974. By analyzing two practices of valorization of one product, I will point out two different simultaneous enactments of aesthetic and moral values. Two contrasting aesthetic framings – the artisanal craftsmanship of skilled workers (sfogline) and the exclusive practices of elite gourmand (Confraternita) – revolve around tortellini. They will allow us to address two main theoretical issues: the construction of elite consumption practices based on aesthetics and the orchestration of aesthetics and moralities at different stages of the social life of a traditional food product.